Girl found alone, deputies investigating

BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Sheriff's deputies said they're investigating how a young girl wound up by herself in her pajamas outside an apartment complex Thursday morning.

Sheriff's deputies said the four to five-year-old child was found around 7:30 a.m. at 12400 Jefferson Hwy at Jefferson Lake Apartments.

Deputies initially asked for help finding the girl's parents or guardians, and said a tip led them to the girl's mother. Deputies said the mother told them she'd left the child with a family friend who lives at the apartment complex before going to work.

Authorities later said the family friend in charge of keeping the girl was not alarmed by her disappearance because she thought her sister had dropped the girl off at daycare.

A sheriff's department spokesperson thanked the public for their help identifying the child and said no charges will be filed against the mother.